Publisher's Synopsis
As a programmer, you need to be able to recognize and improve problematic code, so the program remains in a working state throughout the software lifecycle. Refactoring - the art of improving the design of existing code safely - provides an efficient, reliable system for bringing order to the chaos, and one that keeps the surprises to a minimum! Refactoring can be difficult to learn, but "Refactoring Workbook", by consultant William C. Wake, presents the material in a easy-learning format that makes learning enjoyable and effective. For many, the obstacle to learning refactoring is in identifying the "smells" - the potential problem areas - found in code. Instead of having you read about the smells, "Refactoring Workbook" makes sure you understand them. You'll solve a carefully assembled series of problems, and you'll find yourself learning at a deeper level and arriving at a few insights of your own. Wake uses the workbook method - a learning-focused approach that forces you to apply the techniques presented in the book - in the rest of the book.;This approach helps you learn and apply the most important refactoring techniques to your code and, as a side benefit, helps you to think more about creating great code even when you're not refactoring. "Refactoring Workbook" provides user-friendly references such as: a handy, quick-reference "smell finder"; a standard format for describing smells; appendices showing key refactorings; and, a listing of Java' tools that support refactoring. This book is intended for programmers with a knowledge of Java, though a C# or C++ programmer with a basic understanding of Java would also be able to follow and learn from the examples. It can be used as a companion to Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" (also from Addison-Wesley Professional), which provides step-by-step instructions for many refactorings.
